From the state of the art, ventilation apparatus as well as anesthesia apparatus (referred to hereinafter as ventilation apparatus) having units for synchronizing the mechanical ventilation with spontaneous breathing efforts of the patient are known. The more sensitive the corresponding unit for triggering or executing a mechanical ventilation is adjusted, the earlier or more rapidly does the ventilation apparatus react to an inhalation effort of the patient and that much less is the required respiratory activity of the patient.
A sensitively set trigger threshold, however, has the inherent danger of a so-called self-triggering of the ventilation apparatus. Here, mechanical ventilation strokes can be triggered by leakages in the hose system, by oscillating condensate in the ventilating hoses or by oscillations caused by cardiac activity and transmitted to the lung. Such self-triggerings can lead to an overventilation which, inter alia, can cause a respiratory alkalosis, a reduced respiratory drive as well as an extended need for ventilation.
Ventilation apparatus of the state of the art often have a unit for adapting the trigger threshold to leakages in order to avoid a self-triggering caused thereby. In the case of a self-triggering because of cardiogenic oscillations as described above, up to now there is only the possibility to manually raise the trigger threshold so far that the cardiogenically caused oscillations trigger no further ventilation strokes. A disadvantage associated herewith is the time-dependent delay of the start of the triggering, a greater respiratory effort for the patient and a poorer synchronization with the known side effects associated herewith during the actual respiratory efforts of the patient.